I’ve no idea where the recipe came from, but my mother picked this up some time ago and it really is fantastic. A nice change and typical fare for us on Boxing Day, my mother’s birthday. I’ve posted the recipe here (below the cut) more as a way for me to keep it somewhere than anything else. Feel free to comment if you try it out and let me know what you think of it.
Ingredients:
- A piece of lean ham – gammon is best, though boiling ham will suffice. About £9 worth of gammon will feed 8 people comfortably.
- 1/2 pint of Orange juice
- 6 tablespoons of soft dark sugar
- teaspoon powdered ginger
- teaspoon English mustard
- A little fresh honey
Method
1. Boil the ham in a pan with water for approx. 45 mins. Discard the water, or use it as a stock for something else.
2. Make the sauce by adding the orange juice and the sugar – make sure it’s sweet to the taste. Add the ginger and mustard.
3. Line a baking tray with foil. Place the ham in the foil and rub some honey into the surface of the ham. Cover in the sauce and seal the foil. Bake in a fan oven at around 180 celsius (adjust for your oven) for about 30 mins.
4. Remove from the oven and turn the ham upside down. Baste and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
5. Leave to rest before carving. Use the sauce in the foil as gravy (reduce if preferred). Serve with fresh vegetables and chips or mashed potatoes.
So, for the record, I’ve cooked this recipe three times since I posted this. The first was for Sean and his mother…went down rather well. The second time was after I got back from Sean’s and that made a piece of ham that lasted a while – I gave Sean a chunk to take back with him and I had one dinner and sandwiches from the rest. So that’s a £7 piece of ham, lasted me 2 weeks. I’m cooking another one now which should last me until mid-Feb.
It’s beautiful, the flavour is fantastic, espcially if you chose smoked. It’s cheap, and it lasts. What else can you ask for?